Not with a Bang Start and Ongoing

[voidtreckermods]

"Good Morning passengers. Today is day seven of the month of Imagination." The voice echoes through the train as passengers wake up in their beds. Not long afterwards their SCA’s glow with the colour of the void and a holographic image will appear.

Preperation

They have about an hour to prepare, a little less than usual but perhaps expected, given the urgency of the task.

The cupboards in the dressing room are open to reveal rows of tents, in all four team colours as well as some basic camp cooking equipment. They are in bags that should be easy enough to carry.

"Shortly arriving on System #6416. All passengers get ready to disembark. Next stop world 6416. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." The train rocks and lurches, bright colours of the void filling the space and then fading as they fly downwards towards a very green landscape.

Arrival and Initial Task

The train lands in a clearing, curving round in an attempt to fit. Once everyone who wishes to disembark has done it flies back into the air, vanishing from sight.

The air is heavy and humid, though it is not currently raining. The clearing is open to the sky and looking up will reveal a worrying sight. The sky is an angry red colour, colours shifting as if the clouds themselves were on fire. It's an unnerving sight.

Their SCA's show three points, one Orange, One purple and one that is half blue and half red. The three control centres. Each are a few hours treck through the jungle and it certainly feels like there is no time to waste.

Those that don't want to treck through the forest can start setting up camp, though the darkening sky might be a little distracting. As time goes on flecks of fire drift down, though they extinguish before hitting the forest floor.

Orange are to travel to the north, Purple to the south and Blue and Red must travel together to the west. Each route takes them through thick and unrelenting jungle. Flying is difficult here unless you can get up past the canopy layer, which means vision of the ground is severely hampered.

The control stations themselves are half buried in vines and require cutting into. If voidtreckers are unlucky they will meet their first security robots here, firing on the intruders. They might even meet their first giant Armadillos, the creatures are curious and may wish to investigate. They are not helpful or constructive to trying to power up the stations and prevent the destruction of the planet.

The control stations are simple enough to operate, but there's quite a lot that needs to be done in way of repairs and clearing. It will take a team effort to get it in working enough order to activate the shield.

The shield itself, when it is activated, is mostly invisible but there is a loud humming sound. The meteor, which has gotten more visible throughout the five hours, hits the shield and splinters, fire enveloping the whole sky. It is visibly terrifying, but no fire falls to earth, no rocks get through, the planet is safe.

Ongoing

Once the planet is safe the voidtreckers deserve a rest. But once the next morning dawns it is time to start with their next tasks, to make sure that this planet stays safe from future threats.

Red

The robots at the control stations are not the only malfunctioning security robots around. They roam the jungle, or are more often stranded in the jungle, powering up only when faced with a new threat.

Some are benign, terraforming machines whose only crime is using up precious power. These need to be dismantled so that power can be saved for the shield system. Others are security robots that will attack the intruders to the planet.

Though the machines are scattered they are often obvious, emitting warning alarms or flashing lights. Their SCA's will show some areas where there are larger clusters but machines can be found anywhere.

Purple

Their SCA's are filled with hundreds of purple dots, each a solar stations that needs cleared and brought back online. It's not the most glamourous job, the stations are deep in the jungle, the treck is difficult and most of the work needed is weed clearing.

But once the weeds have been cut away they will need to patch up the station, doing basic maintenance to get it back online. In some cases wires need to be patched back together but it shouldn't take any great feats of engineering to get the stations up and running.

They may run into some of the security automatons, needing to fight their way into the stations before they can begin the clean up operations.

Orange

Like the red team their SCA will show areas where there are clusters of the small insectoid automatons that need to be rescued and restored. However they can be found anywhere throughout the jungle, they are not too suited for the terrain outside of the stations and so they have gotten tangled in vines. They can be found powered down, stranded and in dire need of maintenance.

Tools and spare parts can be found in many of the solar stations that purple team have been locating. Actually repairing the robots takes some engineering knowledge but once they are restored they will go about their tasks in the stations. They will need help getting to the further flung stations as well as the main control centres.

They are very basic in design and follow pre programmed instructions rather than being able to hear and listen to orders. But once in the correct place they are very effective at their job.

Blue

Once the shield is up there is a faint humming that can be heard throughout the jungle if they listen closely and find it among the sound of rain and insects. But once they hear it, it is obvious where it is louder and more prominent.

Their SCA will pin point some of the larger control boxes but there are truthfully too many to show on a map. Not all of them have attracted Violet Pandas, but many of them have.

They are curious creatures, both of the power boxes and the voidtreckers. They are protective of each other but not so much of territory and therefore it is not difficult to move them on. Keeping them away is another matter, the power humming is interesting and they will unearth wires and chew through them. It doesn't seem to do them much harm, there is clearly safety stops in the system for such eventualities. It does however cut power off to entire solar stations and require a lot of patch work.

Good luck voidtreckers!

Comments

Lan Xichen | Mo Dao Zu Shi | Orange but tagging along with Blue

[lanxichen]

I. Preparation

Xichen was not sure what exactly what was in the packages, so he asked. Then considered, and started to pack up. Anyone who thought he might be missing something could help out.

Once he was done, he looked around.

"If anyone needs help with carrying your things, I can be of assistance."

He did have arm strength to spare, and he was very much feeling unsure what to do, but this much he could offer.

II. Setting up

Xichen was really new at setting up camp in modern ways... but he could watch and learn, and he had strength and dexterity aplenty, so he could help out in many places, especially with clear instruction.

But when he did not have anything to do, he would stand on the verge of the jungle and breathe in, trying to connect with the heaven and earth in this place, cultivate softly so he could be of more use later.

III. Trek

Perhaps he did not help much with the shooting, but the large armadillos were something he could easily assist. As cultivator, he needed less focus on the way he moved, so took out Liebing and gently turned the creatures away from the group, soothing them.

Which apparently worked a little too well on one of them, so it fell asleep, right in the middle of the passage between two too-large tree trunks. Xichen took the xiao down from his lips and put it away, rolling his sleeves.

As a Lan cultivator, picking the giant thing was not, in fact, too hard - not even with the months of secluded meditation which had left his cheeks gaunt. Upper body strength was very much a thing.

So the Blue and Red teams are treated to the sight of a tall, long-haired man in an orange hoodie carrying a giant armadillo alongside them, at least until the next clearing he thought he could safely deposit him.

IV. Panda Herding

For keeping the curious soft purple creatures away from the working machinery, Xichen is again using his xiao, though possibly this time it is in duet with his brother on the guqin. The creatures do stay away from where they are told to...

... but that does not mean that they are not curious about the people right there.

Xichen lowers the xiao from his lips and almost smiles at the way one of the creatures is nuzzling at his neck, curled up on his shoulder.

"Perhaps we can set up an array of talismans so they will stay away when we leave, too?"

V. Wildcard

ooc: Choose your own adventure.

Preparation

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin already had all his gear slung over his shoulders, tool satchel, bags of equipment, and his sword.

"You'll definitely need that tent and the cooking gear. And you might want to visit the kitchen and pack some extra food. We really don't know if there'll be foraging opportunities."

[lanxichen]

"Do you think cooking gear is wise when I tend to... not do well with any cooking beyond making tea and boiling rice?"

He could burn water. That was how bad...

[so_dark_a_road]

"Sure!" said Curufin. "If you don't use the cooking gear yourself, maybe somebody else might? It can't hurt to bring it along."

He smiled. "Making tea and boiling rice is important. If you can do those two things at the camp, others will appreciate it."

iv

[happyends]

Talk about some effective panda herding! Considering the fact that Madoka has no special powers - other than the power to be very adorable, maybe - she's rather impressed by how well Xichen is doing. Madoka first watches from a small distance, clearly impressed, but when she hears the other speak up, she can't help but slowly approach a bit.

(Very carefully though! She doesn't want to startle the pandas away!)

"Um.. talismans, sir? May I ask what those can do?"

Because it sounds interesting! And if it's something that could help them, Madoka is definitely interested.

[lanxichen]

Xichen's face softens.

"Talismans are imbued with the energy of the person who makes them, and they can be activated or left active for a long time. They can do different things - many can be used for attacking, or lighting a fire, but most often they are used for protection, to keep things away, or out, of an area.

"Where I come from, they are often used to ward houses against ghosts, but I think they can be modified to keep the curious animals away."

Beat.

"... perhaps at least until we can build a fence of some sort." He is so used to dealing with the supernatural creatures that it takes him explaining to realize there are, in fact, simpler solutions.

[happyends]

"Ah.. Well, it does sound like a good first solution!"

Of course Madoka's initial instinct is to comfort the other and make sure he knows that his initial solution, though maybe a bit more involved and less common than other solutions, is not bad at all. She even makes sure to give him a very polite smile!

"After all, doing anything else is probably going to take some time.." Like building a fence. It's not a five minute job! "And we wouldn't want these poor animals to get hurt in the meantime, right?"

[lanxichen]

Xichen - will realize that this was a comfort in a little while, for the moment the words merely make sense, so he nods.

"We would not. Let me lead them a little away for now, and I will start on that."

Hew will need his mouth on the flue, however, so he might not reply exactly immediately, for the next few minutes. More pandas gravitate towards him, lured by the promise in his enticing melody.

[happyends]

.. oh, wow.

That sure is one way to lure in these creatures. Madoka is kind of stunned into silence herself as she listens. Not since she's as simple as the pandas, really, but.. it's just nice, hearing music like that. She's always in awe of people who can play an instrument, and the pandas are living proof of the fact that Xichen's music is pretty nice.

So she listens quietly. Respectfully. She doesn't pipe up until he's done playing, the two of them now surrounded by the fluffy creature - and even then it's at first only to clap her hands.

"Wow, sir..! You're so good." She makes sure to keep her voice gentle. Madoka wouldn't want to accidentally startle all the pandas and make them run off again.

setting up

[spikelet]

With people preparing for their three marches towards the control centres, A-Qing had firmly put herself in the group staying behind to set up once they'd gone. She didn't know anything about machinery, but she'd at least spent the last two missions getting very familiar with how to set up and take down a tent. It seemed the smart choice.

Didn't make the tents any easier to set up alone, though. She could recruit one of the guys standing around-- but no.

"I'm fine." She was trying to concentrate! She'd pull her weight. Two poles in to the construction, the frame wobbled, and promptly buried A-Qing under a pile of bright blue canvas.

She swore.

[lanxichen]

"Maiden!" Xichen was a cultivator. He could move fast and bear the weight of the tent...

.... but he was far from familiar enough with the tents to know where to support so he could prevent the collapse entirely. So he had to lift the whole thing up after the fact and put it aside. Lan arm strength was like that. Then he crouched next to her.

"Are you hurt?"

[spikelet]

She blinked at the transition from dark to light as the canvas was lifted away, and then blinked again, when she noticed how he'd done it. She'd think he was showing off, but it was so effortless that there'd be no point.

It didn't make her any more likely to show weakness, that was for sure.

"I'm fine," she repeated, stubborn and only sporting a bruise on the arm she'd used to ward off the pole. But, "Thank--"

Ah? She finally took in his face as he set the tent aside. Ran it through the very short list in her head of people who ought to look that similar to Lan Wangji. If her gut feeling was right, then there was no reason to act blind. She leaned forward instead. "Are you teacher's brother? The one who saved the library and let him keep rabbits on the back of the mountain?"

IV

[longforgottenpromise]

Taiki has successfully... collected some pandas. But leaving them somewhere safe is proving more difficult. He currently has one clinging to his back and another doing its best job to make him trip up over him.

He smiles at Lan Xichen when he sees him. "Talismans?"

At this point anything is worth trying.

[lanxichen]

"They are small pieces of paper with spells written on them and imbued with energy, which can then be used to perform the respective action. Often used for warding areas against the entry of certain things. They might need a little modification for live animals, but it should be possible."

Fences are not something he thinks of normally, magical barriers are more his speed.

[longforgottenpromise]

"That sounds like it would be helpful." He nods, the concept doesn't sound that strange to him. Though it sounds more like something that would be found in his own world than on earth.

"Is it something untrained people can help you with?"

[lanxichen]

"Hmm. Perhaps in determining the area that needs to be warded? It might take some examining of what needs to be protected, I believe."

He will make the talismans; he could scout, too, but if someone would like to assist, that might make things faster.

Panda herding

[runicfeathers]

She's mainly joined up with red team but Willow isn't opposed to helping out blue team in herding pandas away from the wiring and building. The colour of her clothes certainly is looking the part of blue team, even if it's not the standard hoodie and pants.

The sight of the panda nuzzling the man has her smiling, but the sound of the music is a sound that makes her relax, and almost miss what was said as she herself is trying to coax a baby panda away from some wires.

"You are not the first person I have heard mention using talismans to do things, but perhaps they could work? I had thought to use my runes to ward them off."

[lanxichen]

"Would those runes be something in writing imbued with energy, such as spiritual energy, to perform an action? Then that would be much akin to the talismans." Wangji said that young master Wei has paper for talismans, so he can demonstrate later, he thinks.

"We would still need to clear them a little bit first, however, yes." He does appreciate her efforts.

[runicfeathers]

"If spiritual energy is like magic, then yes I do suppose they could be called similar. Although my runes do not need to be written on paper to work first. I can activate them on anything." A demonstration of her own would perhaps clear any confusion, but he is right that the pandas need to be cleared first.

"Yes, I agree. Ah.. do forgive me for this, but are you by chance related to Lan Wangji? You two look quite similar. Pardon such a sudden question, I could not help myself from asking."

Panda Herding

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea, lacking Xichen's musical skill, was having to shoo the pandas away the old fashioned way. And didn't seem to be having nearly as much success, judging by the mildly annoyed look he was giving the panda clinging to his arm.

"I was thinking a plain old fence," he said. "But then shielding magic was never really my strong suit. If you think it'd help though, I'm willing to lend a hand if I can. We definitely need something, since it seems these guys bring friends every time they come back."

[lanxichen]

Xichen paused, then blinked slightly.

"... a fence might be more sustainable, once the train leaves..."

Meanwhile, magical barriers really were his speed. He looked up.

"We could combine both. A fence, and talismans to prevent them from dropping in on the fenced-out areas from trees."

[hotheadwarmheart]

"That's a good idea," Lea said. "That way if the magic wears off or the fence gets damaged somehow, there'll be a backup."

"The question is, which do we work on first? Or can we work on both at the same time?"

Re: Lan Xichen | Mo Dao Zu Shi | Orange but tagging along with Blue

[only_one_wei]

Panda herding:

"I can do talismans. Wish I had a way to write directly on the metal of the box. That would be a bit more permanent," said his brother-in-law, giving the panda ears a quick scritch.

He found them cute enough, and for the sake of his husband who had a weakness for soft fuzzy cute things, he was not going to suggest any violence towards the things.

[lanxichen]

Please, violence was likely to not be very permanent, either.

"I have a brush and ink from home. We could attempt that, too."

Wangji had said that young master Wei had paper for talismans, but this was, in fact, a rather good suggestion.

[only_one_wei]

He shrugged and pulled out a talisman with the warding already written on it. "I've got that." He brightened and grinned at Xichen. "I even have glow in the dark and invisible ink!" Not that he was using it for this.

He opened the nearby box and slapped the talisman inside, then closed it up again. "That should help for a while, anyway."